Origin Stories of the Shichinintai
by PhoenixExplosion
Summary: The history of the Shichinintai is never fully explained in neither the anime or manga 'Inuyasha'. Their formation is largely left to the imagination of its fan-base. This series is about how the Shichinintai came to be; lowest ranking member to highest ranking member.
1. The Man Eating Giant

Origin Stories of the Shichinintai:

The Man Eating Giant

Child bearing is the most beautiful part of life. Two people in love; coming together to create the most innocent thing to ever touch the face of earth. However, this wasn't one of those times. A young woman lay on the floor, covered in blood. The desperate cries of an infant fiending for his mother flooded the shack. The old wooden floor creaked under the steps of a heavily armored man. He disappointedly examined the scene through a red clay mask that he wore to cover his face. "I did what I could my lord; but the bleeding just wouldn't stop." A middle-aged woman in white (the mid-wife) explained.

He gave her no response. Pulling the thin blanket down to expose the newborn, he scoffed in disgust. "What a hideous child…" The general muttered.

"My lord, with no mother to care for the child. How will you explain this to your wife?" She asked concerned.

If he was going to care for the child he would have to confess his short-comings as a husband to the woman he claimed to devote his life to. He had no such intentions. "Take the infant deep inside the mountain range and leave him. I will send soldiers to assist you on the way." He said this with no emotion.

"Devil!" An elderly woman barged through the door.

It was the mother of the woman who had just gave birth and died in doing so. She had lost her sight years ago, and was well into her eighties. Rumors had it that she toyed in witchcraft in her younger days; he just passed the rumors off as tall-tales. "You'd throw my only grandchild away as well as my daughter!" She managed to hit the general with her cane.

"Very well then, old woman. You can join the child." He knew that this old woman would attempt to expose his wrong-doings.

Soldiers arrived that night to escort them to the mountains. The elderly woman held her only descendant tightly, in her shackled hands. "I will not survive the mountains. I am old, and in a week's time; I will surely perish." The men and general chuckled carelessly at the statement the old woman made.

"My grandson will survive. One way or another; you will regret this, General!" She warned before the soldiers lead them off.

A week soon went by. The elderly woman laid dying on the ground. She cradles the infant in her hands. "Oh, my beautiful, strong grandson." She said weakly.

"I have to leave you now. But don't be scared. For I have blessed you with extraordinary ability. You won't fight; but instead you will devour your enemies and their life's energy with it. So, you will continue to grow and become big, strong, and fearsome. All will cower and flee in your presence."

The infant began to squirm in her arms and cry out; almost as if to plea with her to stay. "My precious boy. I am glad I lived long enough to meet you; if only for a week." And with that the old woman took her last breath.

Oddly enough, the boy began to grow razor sharp teeth. He cried out in agonizing pain as they all quickly grew in at once. Anything living will instinctively fight to stay alive, even newborn such as this one. The hunger had become too much for this new life to bare. Laying on the cold ground, still hardly able to move himself, still cradled in his grandmother's arms; he began to gnaw on her flesh.

Many tales came from the mountain range in the years to come. Stories of a behemoth, ogre man, that preyed on both man and demon alike. A monster whose hunger could never be satisfied. The few who dared to pass through the range, were never to be seen again. Six men had come to this very mountain range after hearing the tales. One man stood strong on the path leading up to the mountain range. He carried a large halberd, and a long raven braid trailed all the way down his back. His cerulean eyes gazed upon the mighty landscape. Unlike many men before him; he was not here to hunt the beast down. He had something entirely different in mind. His name was Bankotsu, and though very young; he was a superb fighter. "Hey! What are you men doing?" A villager came running out of his hut.

"You can't go in there you'll all be killed." The man warned.

"Is that so?" Bankotsu said with growing interest.

"This mountain range is home of the ogre man. He's been devouring unfortunate souls that wandered through there for years! Even the strongest of demon slayers and soldiers!" The aging villager explained.

The group of men looked at each other. Oddly enough they all seemed rather excited. "Can you tell us any more about this 'ogre man'" Renkotsu, one of the six men asked.

Renkotsu was bald, and he was tall. He wore a blue bandana that sheltered his bald head from the sun. "Well, no one knows where he came from exactly. The only known facts about him is that he feeds off human and demon flesh, and he is so tall that he makes even the tallest of trees look like ants. He has never left survivors." The man explained,

"No survivors?" Bankotsu asked even more intrigued. "How did the stories begin, I wonder…"

The villager looked dumbfounded as the men casually continued their trip towards the mountains. Jakotsu, Mukotsu, Suikotsu and Ginkotsu was also among the group. Jakotsu could have easily been mistaken as a woman, and craved other men the way women do. Mukotsu was a short man, and kept his rather unattractive face covered with a veil. Suikotsu was of an average height, but was a well-built man with wild, short, brown hair. Ginkotsu was a sight to be seen. He was half man, half machine. His body modifications were all credited to his brother Renkotsu.

Nearly a week went by, and the group of men had no luck in seeing the ogre man they traveled so far to see. "Older brother, do you think they really were just stories?" Renkotsu asked ready to give up on the search.

Just then, a silence fell over the land, flocks of birds vacated from the trees, the earth underneath them shook as very large footsteps approached. Trees were bent apart from each other as, a monstrous pair of hands parted them to get a clear view of the six trespassers. "More demon slayers that have come here to rest in my belly." He chuckled loudly, licking his lips.

The six men looked up at a being so large he was almost like a moving mountain. The monster sent a fist crashing down towards the men, they all quickly dove out of the way. Bankotsu gracefully jumped on the ogre man's arm and began running up to his head. The monster grabbed at the young fighter with his other hand but, Bankotsu could dodge him each time. The beast growled in frustration as he finally grabbed the young man. "I can sense your life force, and I must have it." The beast growled eagerly.

He tossed him into his gigantic jaws, and was just about to chomp down. Suddenly, the beast froze; mouth still open. Bankotsu stood on his tongue pointing his mighty halberd to the roof of the monster's mouth. "Do it; and you're dead." Bankotsu warned.

"I didn't come to slay you. I came following the rumors of a behemoth that devoured the flesh of both man and human." Bankotsu began to explain. "I can provide for you all of the flesh you yearn for."

The beast took the young soldier out of his mouth and placed him back down on the ground. "What do you mean?" the behemoth was confused.

"I seek to put together the most powerful group of mercenaries in the land. I've heard your stories, and have traveled far to find you."

The beast was silent; taking in what the young soldier was saying. He could see the strength in each of the six men. Each one held strength he had never seen before, especially Bankotsu. "So, what do you say? Are you ready to ditch these mountains, and come with us?" Bankotsu asked.

Typically, people didn't wander into these parts to recruit a beast like himself. Either they were there to hunt him down, or just simple travelers that didn't believe the stories. Hearing that there were people out there that wanted him to be a part of something; humbled him in a way he had never felt. The behemoth agreed to Bankotsu offer. "Everyone, welcome our new brother, Kyoukotsu." Bankotsu smirked victoriously.

After being alone in the mountains for so long; he was unsure of traveling with others. Now that he had been given a new name; he could now be Kyoukotsu, instead of the 'behemoth' or 'ogre man'. "Now let's go see what our younger brother can do." Bankotsu said with a devilish smirk as he led his men back towards the mountains.

"Kyoukotsu; It's all yours." Bankotsu gestured to the village as they approached.

The people of the small village began to panic as Kyoukotsu approached. "The behemoth has descended from the mountains!" They screamed.

They all tried to escape but to no avail. The power, and newfound freedom that Kyoukotsu felt; he wondered why he didn't leave the mountains sooner. Completely liberated; he devoured villager after villager, stomping others into the ground. He crushed homes with his fists. Bankotsu watched in satisfaction; the formation of the Shichinintai was now complete.


	2. Mother Knows Best

The Origin Stories of the Shichinintai

Mukotsu: Mother Knows Best

A family a family of three sat around a dinner table ready to eat the delicious meal the mother had prepared for them. With bruises and black eyes, the mother and son sat quietly as the father gulped down his sake. "Can't believe I have to come home from a hard day's work, just to see your ugly faces." He spat at them hatefully.

As he went to take a bite of his food he suddenly began to choke. He grabbed at his throat trying to gasp for air. The boy's eyes widened at the sight of his father's face go from red to blue and his eyes that looked like they could pop out of his skull at any second. The woman held her frightened son close to her chest to comfort him. Sounds of glass breaking pierced the young boy's ears as cups and plates were knocked from the table in consequence of the man's desperate state. All grew quiet. It was over. "Finally, Ichirou, he can't hurt us anymore." The woman said relieved, hugging her son.

That night Ichirou helped his mother hide the body of his father. It would be a lie to say that was the end of the woman's abusive counterparts. Her financial stability (due to an inheritance) left her very well off, and was a fatal attraction to the greedy. However, both her and her son lacked the physical attraction to please any man. Both were very stout, and most would say they had the face of a toad. Over time, her counterfeit lovers would always engage in affairs with other women, and always became abusive. She had a perfect solution to problems such as these.

She had the most unusual garden. Instead of growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs; she grew ingredients to make poisons. She had them all; poisonous herbs, shrubs, flowers, mushrooms, and berries. What was even more unusual was what was underneath the surface of her garden. There lay all her victims buried underneath left to become nothing more than fertilizer. Feeding her garden, to create more victims. She claimed this made her poisons that much more potent.

The mother and son found much contentment in one another. Even though the aging woman for love one day, her son was enough to keep her happy. It took nearly decades for anyone to catch on. You could say the two had gotten overly confident in their ways. Instead of the victims including her abusive lovers; it was now young women that denied Ichirou, and people who had gotten too carried away with making fun of the two's looks.

The woman now in her 80's laid in her bed. She was close to death. Ichirou knelt beside her. At this time, he was into his 60's. He could hear the guards and their horses approaching. "Don't leave me now mother; I am afraid." He pleaded, tears streaming down his face.

"Do not fear my Ichirou; the poison gas that we created is more than enough to take out those guards." She wheezed.

She weakly grabbed his hand. "Ichirou, you have brought me so much happiness in this pitiful world. You never once left my side. Now, go! If you live I can rest in peace." She said with a faint smile, as she let go of his hand.

Ichirou hurriedly grabbed the canister of poison gas they concocted. He rigged up a trap, that way when the guards open the door it would trigger the canister to open. He evaluated from a safe distance in the woods, as the guards beat down the door. Fumes engulfed the house and surrounding area. He watched as the guards screamed in pain. It seemed to burn their skin and eyes, you could almost hear them sizzling. Ichirou watched with interest. "Hm… What a horrible way to die" He said to himself, slightly amused.

After the smog cleared, he reentered his home. Although, he was not sure where he was going. He gathered supplies he would need for his long journey. He gathered canisters of premade poisons, along with spare ingredients to make more. As he was outside picking fresh ingredients he heard people approach from behind him. He spun around quickly to face him, a canister in hand. "More soldiers, eh?" He hissed.

"We've come in search of a skilled poison master." A young man with black braided hair said stepping forward.

"Have you come to kill me?" Ichirou said defensively.

"No, someone with your skill could prove quite useful to us." The young man stated.

Ichirou was shocked this group of five young men wanted him to join them. They had use for an old man like him? He graciously accepted the offer. The leader smirked quite pleased with the outcome. "From now on, you will be called 'Mukotsu', our brother."


End file.
